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3 SheetsSheet 1.

(No Model.)

0. A. GILDEMEY-ER. MACHINE FOR Pl AGlNG oovms 0N BOXES AND (mus. No.563,160.

Patentedlfune 30, 1896.

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(No Model.)

0. A. GILD'EMEYER. MACHINE FOR PLACING oovnns 0N BOXES AND ems, No563,160.

Patented June 30,1896.

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(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 3.

G. A. GILDEMEYER. MACHINE FOR PLACING COVERS 0N BOXES AND'GANS.

No. 563,160. Patented June so, 71896.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. GILDEMEYER, OF HADDONFIELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALFTO HENRY D. MOORE, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR PLACING COVERS ON BOXES OR CANS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 563,160, dated June 30,1896.

Application filed November 19,1894. Serial No. 529,296. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. GILDE- MEYER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a.

resident of Haddonfield, Camden county, New Jersey, have inventedcertain Improvements in Machines for Placing Covers on Boxes or Cans, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to rapidly and accurately cover or capboxes and cans automatically, as fully described hereinafter, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan viewof my improved machine for automatically placing covers or caps on cansor boxes. sectional view on the line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transversesectional view on the line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectionalview on the line 4 4, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an inverted perspective view ofthe capping-block. Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of Fig.1, illustrating the spring-fingers for holding the caps or covers. Figs.7 and 8 are diagram views illustrating the operation of the machine; andFig. 9 is a sectional plan View on the line 9 9, Fig. 2.

I may state at the beginning of the specification that the cans or boxesand the caps or covers for the same are fed to a certain portion of themachine on independent ways, and the cover is so adjusted, as shown inFig. 7, that when the can is moved forward in the direction of the arrowits upper edge will engage with the flange of the cover, and as themovement of the box is continued it will draw the cover from its chuteand the capping-block will force the cover down onto its seat on thebox, which will then be carried away from the machine.

I will now describe in detail the construction of the machine.

A is the frame of the machine, supporting a table A, upon which ismounted the bed B.

D is an endless belt extending across the machine, as shown in Figs. 1and 3. This belt travels over a raised plat-form A over a portion of thebed B, and around rollers 12 b, the roller b being the driven roller andis mounted on the shaft D, which is driven from the driving-shaft Ethrough the medium of the bevel-gear and pinion e e, shaft E,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal and chain e The feed of this belt is constantand its face is smooth, so that cans or boxes placed upon the belt atthe point :nwill be fed by the belt toward the bed B.

On each side of the belt and secured to the bed of the machine areraised strips a a, which serve as guides to keep the cans or boxes in asingle line while they are being carried to the bed B. These guides areheld in place by set-screws a and may .be adjusted or replaced toaccommodate boxes or cans of different sizes, the set-screws a beingmounted in the slots a so as to allow for a lateral movement of theguides.

Situated at right angles, in the present instance, in respect to thebelt D is an inclined chute F for the caps or covers of the boxes.

The caps are fed, in the present instance, to the upper portion of thechute F, and are allowed to slide down the same by gravity. The chute isprovided with inclined sides f f, so that the caps or covers will bedirected in a single line to the discharge-point. At the end of thechute are two spring-fingers 9 Fig. 6, which are laterally adjustable.These spring-fingers hold the caps or covers in the proper position tobe engaged by the can or box when it is pushed forward under the cap, asexplained above. The fingers will yield sufficiently to allow the cap tobe released quickly.

H is a shoe or block mounted in front of the chute F and above the bedB. This block has an inclined way h, a flat portion h, and.

a cut-away portion h, as shown in Fig. 5.

The block is so mounted in respect to thespring is held in place by aset-screw or thumbnut g, which can be loosened, so as to allow for theready removal of the spring and block.

The block H is adapted to a frame B, mounted on rods 01, projecting fromthe bed and secured in position byset-screws (1. By loosening theseset-screws the frame can be raised or lowered to accommodate boxes orcans of different height.

On each side of the table B are guides B which are undercut at b to fitthe base-flange 'y of the can or box Y. These guides are laterallyadjustable, so as to fit cans or boxes of diiferent sizes, being securedin position by nuts 0, adapted to screw-bolts a, projecting from theguides and through the table, as shown in Fig. 3.

To prevent the block H from being misplaced by the spring G, whichengages with the same, I provide pins 2' i, mounted in the guides B,which are engaged by the shoulders 7&4 of the block. The block ishowever, free to move on the ways on the frame B in the direction of thearrow, Fig. 2, should the caps jam in the chute. To keep the caps inposition to be caught by the cans or boxes, as the caps are projectedbeyond the edge of the chute F, I provide the spring tongue-plate I,which is preferably capable of longitudinal movement and is held inplace by the setscrew 2", by which it may be adjusted. This tongueallows a portion of the cap to project beyond the end of the chute, justsufficient for the can to engage with the same, as shown in Fig. 7.

A central guide-plate f is preferably arranged above the chute F and isof such a height from the chute that only a single row of caps or coverscan be fed at a time to the boxes or cans.

The chute can be removed from the machine and another one placed inposition when caps or covers of different sizes are to be fed to theboxes or cans.

M is a plunger carried by a piston m, mounted upon a slide M, adapted toways A on the bed B. This plunger and slide are reciprocated through themedium of the connectingrod M and the disk M having a crank-pin m, andthis disk is mounted on a guidingshaft E, so that as the said shaftrevolves the plunger will be moved forward and will return.

When the plunger is in the position shown in Fig. 2, it allows a can tobe carried into its path by the belt D, and as it moves forward it,carries the can with it on the bed B directly under a cap or cover,which is so adjusted that as the can continues its movement it will drawthe cover from the chute, and the said cover will be forced upon the canor box by the capping-block H, and as the plunger still moves forwardthe can or box will be discharged from the machine with the cap or coverin position. On the return of the plunger to the position shown by Fig.2, another can 1will be carried in front of the plunger by the elt.

In order to prevent the cans from crowding against the plunger as it ismoved forward, I provide a slide or gate K, adapted to bearings k k, theportions k of the slide projecting in the path of the belt D when theplunger moves forward, so as to prevent the belt feeding the cans untilthe plunger has returned to the position back of the belt. A spring 10moves the slide forward as soon as the plunger moves forward and a lug kon the slide K is engaged by the rear of the plunger as it nears the endof the stroke, withdrawing the slide or gate and allowing the can to befed in front of the plunger, as clearly shown in Fig. 9.

The belt is driven at a greater speed in proportion to the plunger, sothat a can will always be in position to be fed in front of the plunger.

The shaft E can be driven by hand, and I have provided for this purposea hand-wheel E or it may be driven by power, and I have provided twopulleys 6 e one loose and the other fast, on the shaft E. The belt froma counter-shaft E may be directed onto either one of these pulleys bymeans of the beltshifter E*.

I may feed the caps or covers to the chute F by hand or I may arrange ahopper, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, from which the caps or coverswill be automatically fed to the chute F. This cap or cover feedingarrangement may be constructed as follows: P is the hopper having aninclined bottom 19, one side of the same being higher than the other, asshown in Fig. 4, and the bottom of the hopper is agitated by cams q,arranged on the cam-shaft Q, driven by a belt g from the driving-shaftE. I preferably pivot the bottom 19 to a bar p at the front of thehopper and separately agitate the two halves of the bottom by two cams,as shown by Fig. 4, the object being to keep the caps or covers inmotion, so that they will rest upon the feeding-belts s s and be carriedby the same to the chute F. The feeding-belts s 3 pass around pulleys onthe shaft Q and around a wheel 8 on the end of the chute and arepreferably made rough, so as to engage with the flange of the cap orcover, but will not engage with the top of the same.

I preferably make these belts s s of cardclothing, which is simply aleather or cotton belt having a series of fine teeth projecting from itssurface, and all of the same height. By this means I am enabled to feedthe caps to the boxes or cans with the flanges down.

By the above-described invention I am enabled to cover or cap boxes orcans considerably quicker than can possibly be done by hand.

While my invention is especially applicable to capping or covering smallboxes or cans holding about an ounce or two, it can be used to coverlarger cans and to cover boxes made either of metal, wood, orpasteboard.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination in a machine for placing capsor covers upon cans or boxes, feeding mechanism for the cans or boxes,achute for the covers or lids and a spring-tongue at the end of saidchute and arranged to engage the under side of the lids or covers andhold them in a position above the path of the cans or boxes so that theywill be engaged by said cans or boxes and forced onto the same by theirforward movement, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the feeding-belt for the cans, the plunger forforcing one can at a time forward, a chute for the caps, means forholding the caps in position above the path of the cans and mechanismfor reciproeating the plunger so that a can will be removed from thebelt and carried forward to engage with the caps, substantially asdescribed.

3. The combination of thebed, aguideway A on the same,areciprocatingplunger moving in said guideway, a chute for the caps, anda transversely-arranged feeding-belt for the cans driven at a higherrate of speed than the plunger, substantially as described.

at. The combination of the bed, the chutes for holding the caps mountedabove the bed, means for holding the caps in position, a reciprocatingplunger adapted to feedthe cans or boxes on the bed, atransversely-arranged feeding-belt for the boxes, with a cappingblockhaving an inclined portion adapted to force the cap onto the can whenthe can is moved forward, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the bed, having undercut guideways adapted toreceive the bottom flange of the can, a plunger for forcing the canforward, a feed-chute for the caps, a capping-block mounted in front ofthe feedchute above the bed, and a transversely-arranged feeding-beltfor moving the cans to a position in front of the plunger, substantiallyas described.

6. The combination of the bed, guideways for the can, a reciprocatingplunger for feeding the can forward, a feed-chute for the caps, atransversely-arranged carrying-belt for the cans adapted to pass acrossthe bed in front of the plunger, and guides for keepa spring for holdingthe block in position in respect to the chute, substantially asdescribed.

8. The combination of the bed, a chute above the bed for the caps,spring-fingers at the end of the chute for holding the caps, acapping-block beyond the chute, a plunger for feeding the cans or boxesforward, with transversely-arranged feeding mechanism for feeding'thecans to a position in front of the plunger, substantially as described.

9. The combination of the bed, the reciprocating plunger, atransverselyarranged feeding-belt for moving the cans in front of theplunger, a feed-trough for the caps, with a spring slide or gatereleased when the plunger is moved forward so as to prevent furtherfeeding of the cans and so arranged as to be retracted from the path ofthe cans when the plunger is reciprocated, substantially as described.

v10. The combination of the bed, feeding mechanism for the cans,areciprocating plunger, the feed-chute for the coversor caps, a hopper,belts extending from the hopper to the feed-chute, said belts having aroughened surface adapted to engage with the flanges of the caps,substantially as described.

11. The combination of the bed, a guideway A on the same, thereciprocating plunger for feeding the cans adapted to said guideway, achute for the caps arranged above the bed, a hopper for the caps,mechanism for agitating said hopper, and feed-belts extending from thehopper to the chute, substan-' tially as described.

12. The combination of the bed, feeding mechanism for the cans, a chutefor the caps, a hopper having the bottom made in two sections, mechanismfor agitating each section of the bottom, endless belts of,card-clothing adapted to engage only with the flanges of the caps, andadapted to carry said caps to the chute, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES A. GILDEHEYER.

'Witnesses:

FRED C. BENNER, JOSEPH H. KLEIN.

